HIGHLIGHTS: DHS Winter Concert

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By Hannah Cho,
BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–

The lights dim and the chatter of the audience fades into a hush, its attention turned toward the nervous musicians on stage.

On Dec. 14, the Davis High Baroque Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, and Symphony Orchestra performed their annual winter concert at Brunelle theater.

The concert opened its curtains with the Piano Trio in G Minor performed by senior Sue Bin Park on violin, senior Nina Martin on cello, and senior Janet Liu on the piano.

“I was nervous . . . it had a long program to play solos for and I was worried about the trio,” Park said. “But it all worked out.”

Next up was the senior string quartet–Sithmi Jayasundara and Erin Rairdan on violin, Emily Hoeft on viola, and Vasanth Kumar on cello–which played the String Quartet No. 16 in F Major.

Following the quartet was the concert’s first full orchestra performance by the Baroque Ensemble, which played the Concerto Grosso No. 5 in D Minor and the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Minor, which featured Park as the soloist.

“[Baroque] is such a unique ensemble and it’s super hard to find a group that does historically informed performance, let alone at this level of musicianship,” Park said. “The first concert of the year is always exciting and sometimes nerve wracking but DHS always pulls it off.”

As the Baroque Ensemble’s performance came to a close, the Chamber Orchestra stood backstage, waiting in anticipation as their turn neared.

The Chamber Orchestra played Themes from Carmen by Georges Bizet and Overture from the Thieving Magpie by Gioachino Rossini.

“Chamber is really special because it’s made up of students who truly love music enough to come play music first period,” senior Sophie Lopez said. “Playing on stage at the concert is great for the chamber orchestra because it gives more experience to the group and it helps us mesh our sound better.”

Angelo Moreno, the director of all three orchestras, thought that despite the hectic preparation, the concert went smoothly.

“From the audience’s perception, it’s supposed to be seamless and smooth, but when you have three orchestras and two quartets and a trio, the scene behind the stage is not quite the smooth transition the audience sees,” Moreno said.

“Luckily enough, I’m surrounded by students who are dedicated and who follow instructions,” Moreno continued. “I think it was a flawless, seamless concert.”

A short intermission followed the Chamber Orchestra’s performance, and the audience members welcomed the last group of musicians to the stage as they returned to their seats.

Click on the video below to watch the highlights of the Symphony Orchestra’s performance.